The Amazing Spider-Man #238
The Amazing Spider-Man #238 (March 1983) introduced the Hobgoblin — the most significant new Spider-Man villain of the Bronze Age and the character most widely regarded as the true successor to the Green Goblin's legacy. By concealing the Hobgoblin's civilian identity from the very first page, writer Roger Stern launched what became one of the longest-running mysteries in Marvel Comics history, a whodunit that kept readers theorizing across nearly a full decade of Spider-Man titles. The issue also marks the functional first appearance of Roderick Kingsley as the Hobgoblin, a revelation that would not be officially confirmed in-story until the 1997 miniseries Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives, underscoring how much narrative weight a single issue can carry across years of continuity. Its influence is visible in virtually every subsequent story involving Goblin-legacy characters and in the broader Bronze Age trend of treating long-form villain mysteries as an ongoing storytelling engine.
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Writer Roger Stern conceived the Hobgoblin because he was under editorial pressure to pit Spider-Man against the Green Goblin again, but was unwilling to resurrect Norman Osborn, rehabilitate Harry Osborn as a villain, or simply create yet another Goblin — instead designing a new criminal who would inherit the Green Goblin's arsenal and be a worthy, more calculating heir to that legacy. Stern plotted the issue without a fixed identity for the new villain, and it was only while scripting the art pages by John Romita Jr. that he settled on Roderick Kingsley — a morally bankrupt corporate figure Stern himself had introduced in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #43 — as the man beneath the hood. The costume was primarily Romita Jr.'s design, arrived at through a loose directive to evoke the Green Goblin with a more medieval silhouette, and John Romita Sr. provided finishes over his son's breakdowns — a rare father-and-son artistic collaboration. Tom DeFalco served as editor (Jim Shooter as Editor-in-Chief), and every copy of the issue shipped with a Lakeside Skin Tattooz promotional insert, a distinction that makes intact copies a separate collecting category from those where the insert is missing.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Hobgoblin (Roderick Kingsley) in the story 'The Shadow of Evils Past!' — the character appears in disguise, identity unrevealed.
- Created by writer Roger Stern and artist John Romita Jr. (breakdowns) with John Romita Sr. on finishes; cover by both Romitas; edited by Tom DeFalco under Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter.
- Roderick Kingsley had previously debuted as a civilian character in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #43 (June 1980), also written by Roger Stern — his connection to the Hobgoblin was not revealed until Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives #1–3 (1997).
- The Hobgoblin's civilian identity was deliberately withheld, initiating one of the most protracted villain-identity mysteries in Marvel history, involving multiple writers, editorial conflicts, and a retcon that played out over more than a decade.
- Every copy of the issue was packaged with a Lakeside Skin Tattooz promotional insert; copies retaining the intact, unopened insert are tracked as a distinct variant (238A) from those without it (238B).
- The issue also exists in Direct Edition and Newsstand Edition formats, as well as a Mark Jewelers advertisement insert variant.
- Reprinted in Marvel Tales #257 (January 1992) and the 1992 trade paperback Origin of the Hobgoblin; subsequently collected in Spider-Man: Origin of the Hobgoblin (2011), Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 23 (2021), and issued as a Facsimile Edition by Marvel in May 2022.
- The Hobgoblin character adapted from this issue has appeared in multiple animated series and video games, cementing the character's place in Spider-Man's broader media presence.
Cast · 2 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
After narrowly escaping from Spider-man, a small-time criminal named Georgie accidentally discovers one of Norman Osborn's Green Goblin lairs. Georgie takes the information to Roderick Kingsley (whose identity is concealed from the reader) who, after killing Georgie, begins to test the equipment they found.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
